Businesses paying back deferred taxes

Businesses that delayed settling their tax bills under a scheme introduced by the government to help those struggling in the economic downturn are paying back the much of the money owed.

The latest figures from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) revealed that the tax authority reached 177,000 agreements to defer business taxes, with about 60 per cent of firms working to repayment timetables of three months or for shorter periods.

The total amount of the delayed payments has hit £3.17 billion.

However, HMRC’s statistics also showed that almost £2 billion has now been settled, with some 90 per cent of anticipated repayments being made.

Under the ‘time to pay’ scheme, businesses that are genuinely unable to pay can agree to delay PAYE, VAT, NICs and corporation tax bills.